1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a protection circuit module and a rechargeable battery pack including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, rechargeable batteries have been widely developed for use in portable devices. The most popular rechargeable batteries include Ni-MH batteries, lithium batteries, and lithium ion batteries.
Rechargeable batteries generally include an electrode assembly and a case to house the electrode assembly. An electrode assembly includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator. A case can be a can or pouch, which is formed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and is used to electrically couple an electrode assembly to an external terminal, after sealing an opening of the case. A liquid or solid electrolyte is injected into the case. If a case is formed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, the battery becomes light-weight and does not corrode when used at a high voltage, for a long period of time.
Currently, many portable electronic devices are becoming smaller. This has increased the demand for rechargeable batteries, or rechargeable battery packs, that are small, light weight, and have a high capacity. One way to reduce the size of a rechargeable battery pack, is to minimize the space occupied by external devices or parts, such as a cap assembly and a protection circuit module (PCM).